A number of systems are known in the prior art for facilitating the general loading and unloading of the contents of a truck. Generally, these systems take the form of roller conveyors, pushing and pulling power elements or the like, and do not permit access to a container at the forward end of the truck without removing other containers. It is known to use an endless power conveyor on a truck body which is designed to deliver a particular container to the rear of the truck. However, such systems are impractical from a cost standpoint in that entirely too much free space must be allowed for the containers on the conveyor to make the turns around the sharp corners of the truck body. Further, the mechanism of the conveyor itself has generally been of a rather bulky construction further reducing the space that is available for the hauling of cargo. The system of this invention permits the carrier to maximize the usage of the space within the truck body.
This invention is an improvement over the article handling systems disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,588, dated Apr. 9, 1974, entitled ARTICLE HANDLING SYSTEM and U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,916, dated Dec. 11, 1973, also entitled ARTICLE HANDLING SYSTEM, both of which issued to the applicant herein.
The basic concept under which the system disclosed in those patents operates involves the sectioning of the truck body into a plurality of contiguous, generally square areas aligned in two longitudinal rows. Each of the squares receives a container with the exception of one which is left blank. By subjecting the two rows of containers to a plurality of sequenced rectilinear movements using the blank space, a particular container may be brought to a particular location on the floor of the truck body without having to remove any of the containers from the truck, thereby saving many man hours in unloading the truck. Wear and tear on the truck body is minimized in that, since a container is delivered to the rear opening mechanically, a fork lift need not enter the truck for the removal of a container located at the front.
This invention is designed on the basic concept disclosed in those earlier patents but constitutes an improvement over the apparatus disclosed in those patents for moving the loads in a rectangular endless path.
In addition to providing an improvement in apparatus utilizing a single blank space in one of the pair of rows, the concept of using at least two blank spaces, one in each row, is introduced herein. This enables the longitudinal drive means and then the transverse drive means to be actuated simultaneously, i.e., a pair of rows can be shifted simultaneously. The result is that a load can be moved through the complete rectangular path in half the time of that required by using a single blank space.
Accordingly, it is an objective of this invention to provide a mechanized article handling system for truck or tractor-drawn trailer bodies which is fast and efficient in operation.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a new and useful method for handling loads on a truck or tractor-drawn trailer the practice of which method results in substantial savings in manpower and time.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a mechanized article handling system primarily useful for trucks or the like, employing a plurality of cable-drive arrangements which move the loads in a rectangular path within the confines of the vehicle body.
It is still another objective of this invention to provide a system which makes efficient use of a minimum number of power sources for effecting movement of the loads through a rectangular path using either a single or a double blank space.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a mechanized article handling system for trucks or the like wherein the mechanized system consumes virtually none of the interior volume of the truck body and shifts the container in rectilinear paths in such a manner that the maximum volume of the truck body may be utilized for the handling of income-producing freight.
Another objective of this invention is to provide an article handling system which may be readily installed in any conventional truck or trailer without structurally modifying the vehicle.